- Ecosystem Resilience System in Silent Crisis. Case Study: Bushehr as a Coastal Area in Iran    642 kb by    Fattahi, Sara | sara_ftth@yahoo.com    Short Outline The crisis of climate change is a major problem for international action to end it. Many people and places are under stress from environmental and socio-economic pressures. This study is based on estab-lished values in the Bushehr coastline region in Iran. Abstract Today, millions of people are already suffering because of climate change. The deathly silence of this crisis is a major impediment for international action to end it. Some of the people and places affected by changes in ecosystems and ecosystem services are highly vulnerable to the effects. Indeed, many of these people and places are already under severe stress from environmental, health, and socioeconomic pressures, as well as new forces involved in globalization. 1. Effect of vulnerability through the human lens At a global level, various efforts over the past several decades have defined vulnerable indexes. It is obvious from the notion of vulnerability that three major dimensions are involved: • Exposure to stresses, concern, and shocks; • The sensitivity of people, places, and ecosystems to stress or concern, including their capacity to anticipate and cope with the stress; • The resilience of exposed people, places, and ecosystems in terms of their capacity to absorb shocks and concern while maintaining function. (UNDP, 2007). The most vulnerable people are those whose livelihoods directly depend on nature and on the ecosystem services that nature provides. 1. a. Why do Ecosystems matter to Disaster Risk Reduction? Ecosystem degradation reduces the ability of natural systems to sequeser carbon, further worsen climate change related disasters. Healthy and diverse ecosystems are more strong themselves to extreme weather events, and are therefore more able to continue to provide benefits to ommunities in post-disaster situations. (Akihiko Morita, 2007) Ecological systems or ecosystems are responsible for life-supporting environmental services, such as the hydrological, nitrogen and carbon global cycles. They are essential for the survival of human beings because of the natural goods and services they provide, including water, food, and medicines. However, human interactions can have profound impacts upon the biological, chemical, and physical processes essential to maintaining the structure and functions of ecosystems. (Andrew Clarke, 2003) Ecosystems are fundamental for human well-being and provide crucial services and options for communities to buffer the impacts of environmental disturbances, extreme events and change. They also provide aesthetic and cultural benefits. 1. Case study reason: Iran, Bushehr The people are now trying to adapt to the climate change and the impact, but there is one big difference between developed countries and developing countries. While developed countries have the financial, technological and human resources to deal with the consequences of a changing climate, such capacities of developing countries are severely limited. Developing countries particularly in Bushehr in south of Iran, near Persian Gulf is likely to suffer the earliest and most because of its geographical location. Coastal Area Sensitivity Evaluation is in fact, the evaluation of an extraordinary ecological rich region. This study has been based on established criteria and values in the Bushehr Province coastline region. This Paper firstly analyzes the vicious spiral between climate change impacts, ecosystem degradation and increased risk of climate-related disasters; secondly, defines the central role of ecosystem management in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction specially in Coastal Area; and thirdly, discuss about one of the developing country Province, Bushehr as a high potential city for natural resources that are in danger; and try to find some method or solution. Keywords vulnerability,resilience, ecosystem resilience system, coastal zone, Bushehr, Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2012: Fast Forward: Planning in a (hyper) dynamic urban context   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper